Divine Third Hunting
by Yorae Rasante
Summary: Side-story to Hunter with a Divine Third. During the month of training for the Chunin Exam, Naruto unlocks a new summon... and with it a passage to a world where skill, and not chakra and stronger jutsus and bloodlines, can decide your life or death. He chooses to embrace that world, and become also a Hunter. Prequel and later midquel to HwaDT.
1. Welcome to the Hunting Grounds

**Hello everyone!**

 **This is a side story to my Hunter With A Divine Third one.**

 **Since I began HwaDT in media res, with Naruto already having months of Monster Hunting training, the most important scenes would be shown on flashbacks. That was done so people would be able to focus on the** _ **real**_ **crossover, since MH was not supposed to have such a big influence in the story at the time.**

 **Things changed. Naruto ended up more skilled than I planned, and plans began intertwining the three worlds as future plans became more developed.**

 **This story is mostly side stories. It won't advance the plot of HwaDT, but it will provide most of the character development moments about the Naruto and MH part from both before and even some** _ **during**_ **HwaDT, like Naruto's interactions with Artemis mentioned but not developed in chapter 1.**

 **That said, most of this first chapter is a mix of flashbacks already shown with some scenes between them. Future chapters will be much more original though.**

 **And on time, while in the anime Naruto calls his chakras blue and red, in the manga they are yellow and red. The silver one is because of the changes mentioned in the main story.**

IIIII

Naruto paid attention to the white-haired man as he told him about his two different chakras. He did remember using a different chakra at the battle against Haku. It felt different, and filled him with power…

But he could feel something else. If he could describe them as colors, while his usual one is yellow, the one he used them was red. But—

"I don't feel like you are right, though."

"Oh?" the older man raised an eyebrow, intrigued. The kid just admitted feeling a second chakra, and he supposedly already knew about the Kyubi locked in him.

"It's like I have three chakras…"

"Three?" the old hermit asked the boy, surprised.

"Yes, I can feel them… I can feel them as colors. One yellow, one red and one silver… Mine is the yellow one, and the red one is the one that made me stronger. But I only noticed the silver one now."

Jiraiya frowned. The yellow one was his own chakra, and the red one was obviously the fox. But what could be—

'Of course,' he thought, holding back a groan, 'it _has_ to be something related to that woman.'

Jiraiya did not like her. She had a good body, make no mistake, but her personality… and while threats of violence and tuning him into horned rabbits were not enough to dissuade him usually, she _would_ be able to follow on them in a way not even Tsunade did that one time she almost killed him.

IIIII

"Hey Ero-sennin," Naruto asked tiredly, "I've been thinking… why am I trying so hard to use the red chakra?"

Jiraiya looked from the red tadpole Naruto summoned back to the boy, as if hoping he would get the clue.

Naruto got obviously irritated.

"Not that, you idiot! You make me spend all my yellow chakra to try to use the red one because it makes me stronger. But I cannot use the red! Why don't you at least let me try with the silver one?"

The self-proclaimed super-pervert sighed. It sounded stupid the way he put it, but it did make sense. If only he had any idea what the silver one _would do_ , since he wasn't even sure it counted as chakra.

"Naruto, I'll be honest with you… You are an idiot."

"What the? What was that for?"

Jiraiya looked at him seriously before continuing. "I told you this red chakra is something unique to you. Where else are you unique?"

Naruto blinked… then noticed his hand going instinctively to his stomach.

And he figured out.

"Oi oi oi! I don't want to use the stupid fox's chakra! I want to defeat him fairly so he got no right to complain later!"

"And will he do the same?" the sannin countered. "Will he stop using his special eyes so you cannot claim he is stronger? Or will he use it as the advantage it is supposed to be?  
You are a ninja, brat. Learn to think like one!"

Naruto closed his hand hard. He didn't like the thought of stooping to his level in this, but he had a point.

"Besides, it's not like using a summon to fight for you is defeating him yourself."

The boy blinked, confused. "Eh? EH?"

"…You didn't notice that?"

"Damn it! Why am I learning this then?"

The sannin poked the top of his head. "Because it is something that can save your and your conrades' lives, idiot! You can use it to get support when there is none, at the _least_. It is nothing flashy like I bet you wanted, and not very useful in the exam, but it'll be useful for everything else in your career!"

"But I want to learn something useful _for the exam_! Leave it for later then and teach me something I can use!"

Jiraiya shrugged, as if giving up. "Alright then. You have no talent anyway."

"…what did you say?"

"Oh, you are not only talentless, you are also deaf too?" Jiraiya replied in a teasing tone.

"I am not talentless! I am doing my best, I am just running on fumes and I can't use this red chakra, and now that I know what it is I'm not even sure if I _want_ to!"

Jiraiya's eyes widened, and his mouth opened in a smile. "That's it brat! You're doing it!"

"…uh?" Naruto asked, looking at his hands… hands with sharp, longer nails that were shortening back in front of his eyes.

Eyes wide, he started concentrating to keep the red chakra circulating, but it soon was all gone.

"Well, that happened," said Jiraiya with a sigh. "But it seems like it isn't very easy to control. Guess you can't use it then."

"Hey! My chakra is not as much as the stupid fox's, but I bet I can use it to summon a good frog if you didn't make me be so tired when I try it!"

"And what are the chances that you will summon them when you are not tired?" Jiraiya asked seriously. "And to be honest, the chakra you've been using is more than enough for the biggest ones I used in front of you yet. Your control just sucks."

That felt like a slap to the face for Naruto.

"So, you don't have enough control with the yellow chakra to summon the big ones, and you can't draw the red chakra properly… Let's see, what can we do to make you draw the red one easier…"

"What about the silver one?"

Jiraiya shook his head. "We have no idea what the silver one could do. I'd rather not risk it."

"But the red one is the fox's!"

Jiraiya sighed, then nodded. It seemed to Naruto like he knew something about it, but why wouldn't he tell him then? "Alright, you have one chance to summon with the silver chakra. Let's see what you get."

Naruto complied, quickly making the handsigns, but doing his best to drawn the silver chakra this time.

As the smoke disappeared, he was disappointed for a second for the summoned being being small despite him putting as much silver chakra as he could… Then he froze.

That was **not** a toad.

That was furry, with a tail, pointed ears and vertical eyes.

He would call it a cat, if it weren't for the armor. And the fact he was standing up, pointing a lance to him.

"Name's Ace, The Ace Palico. Are you my new minion?"

IIIII

"So, let's see if I get it. You are a Lynian, a kind that is split in three kind, of which yours is talking felines. You are yourself a Palico, which is like a profession for your kind where you fight beside a Hunter."

Ace nodded.

"But I'm not a hunter, I'm a ninja!" Naruto protested. While Ace seemed cool, he didn't want to change professions. How would he be Hokage without being a ninja?

Ace just dismissed his concerns though. "No reason you can't be both, nyah. You just need some training.  
You summoned me, kid. That means you have _lots_ of potential. It would be a shame to throw it away, meowster."

"I agree with him, brat. While it wouldn't be much useful in battling other ninjas, being able to hunt would be useful not only for getting food but also for tracking."

Ace looked at Jiraiya weirdly.

"…What?"

"I fail to see how these would be the only advantages of being a Meownster Hunter for a ninja."

It was time for Jiraiya to blink confused. Something he had to admit didn't happen much nowadays. "Do you mean 'Monster'? _Monster_ Hunter?"

Ace nodded, crossing its arms. Then it closed its eyes, as if thinking hard about something. "I may not know meowch of this land, but I can tell it is not close to mine. It would take twice the effort between digging from here and _anywhere_ I know."

"… _Digging?_ "

"But I never thought this place would not have Meownster Hunters…" He opened his eyes, looking at Naruto. "I take it ninjas here are not just assassins that move among shadows, either?"

"Ninjas are the main military force in most countries in the Elemental Continents," Jiraiya answered. "Some, the most high-ranked and trustworthy, do get missions like assassination, but most of us just do missions that range from rescue and protection to painting a fence and capturing an escaping pet.  
There are also samurais, who live in the Land of Iron, but ninjas use their chakra also for techniques, while they only reinforce their bodies and weapons and armors."

Ace nodded, and sat down on the ground, eyes closed.

"Meownsters are… natural weapons. Yes, that describes them well. They look like giant, more dangerous versions of many animals, and even some legends, nyah.  
There was once a war. Most of the knowledge of the time was lost, and only ruins from both sides remain, but they were two kinds fighting for control of the world. The humans and another race, the dragons. The dragons was clearly superior, they had better abilities, were stronger and more resistant and created living weapons from nature itself, but… Humans were… determined. Where the dragons created meownsters to fight for them, humans joined forces, defeated the meownsters and turned their remains in weapons and armors. In the end, the humans won, and the only remains of dragons are on races born from mixing their kind with humans, the most common being the wyverians. My kind is said to have evolved from monsters though.

But the world is meowleable. Meownsters became part of nature, living together with normal animals. Hunters try their best to protect people from the most dangerous ones, but they respect and let live those that are no purrblem."

Jiraiya nodded. As a Sage he had a healthy respect for nature, even its most dangerous sides.

"You said something about digging?" Naruto asked, confused.

"Yes. My kind can burrow on anything and teleport to somewhere safe to heal, or to whoever we are contracted to. The actual ground is not even damaged. We can also carry others but it is tiring and time-consuming, we use it mostly in a support role and in a group to rescue defeated hunters in carts. Going too far and carrying others leaves you open and tired so the ones that work in transportation usually have points to carry people to between the Hunting Grounds and a resting place nearby."

"Cool," said Naruto, excited. "Can we visit there? Please?"

"Well… why not. It will be a bit tiring taking all of us though, so you'll have to stay there for at least a few hours.  
We could even get you some training in hunting though. Even if you choose not to become a Meownster Hunter right now, it is a good idea to at least learn the basics, maybe get a weapon and train in it for a bit. You could need to spend the night though."

"Hmm… I see. Better do it tomorrow then," Jiraiya interrupted. "Warn some people that we will be gone for a bit."

Ace nodded in understanding. "I'll purrrpare everything in my end then. Call me… tomorrow at sundown. Same method you used today. I'll need to take a long nap after the travel anyway, this way I just fall asleep."

That said, it jumped in the air and began digging. Soon the earth closed behind and no sign it was ever there remained.

IIIII

"Whoah, I feel so weak…" Naruto said as he reached out of the tunnel Ace dug. It _seemed_ short, but on the other side they were surrounded by a field.

"It is because we can't use chakra here, it seems," replied Jiraiya as he climbed up and pulled Naruto. "We are trained to use our chakra to reinforce our bodies, but we can't do that here.  
This is perfect. If we can work on the basics here, you will be much better where you can use it."

"We better register him as a Hunter first though," said Ace as he jumped out and the tunnel closed. "I heard the Gathering Hall was moved to Val Habar, but I can't take us there since I never visited it before. Got us as close as I can. We will have to take a sandboat there."

Jiraiya nodded.

"I need to talk to sensei about this. Ace, I am putting responsibility for him in your hands."

"Do not worry. I would be a lousy master if I let my minions get hurt."

That said, Ace took Naruto to the port, and Jiraiya went to a bar to get something to drink and to write the message to the Sandaime Hokage.

It was only after the message was written that he remembered he _could not use chakra to summon a frog, and his only exit was on a boat with Naruto_.

By that point, plus searching for the port, the sandboat had already left.

IIIII

"Hey Ace, I just thought about it… How will the Ero-sennin send his message?" asked Naruto looking at the horizon.

"Nyah… summoning something? You did it for me."

"Yeah, but I used chakra. He said we can't use it here."

"Hmm… I'm not sure. But he must have his ways."

"Yeah, you are probably, right," Naruto agreed with a nod. "By the way, how long does the travel take?"

"We should arrive at morning, noon tops. Go take a nap."

Naruto nodded and went for his cabin. As much as he had been able to summon Ace, he still tried his best to summon toads until the time to leave… and still only could get tadpoles.

But, failure or not, it was still tiring.

IIIII

Jiraiya smiled as his gamble worked. So, as the sealing scroll in front of him just proved, blood-activated seals could still be used there.

That was good… and bad. Blood-activated seals were much harder to make, since they had to fuel themselves to be activated by the meagre chakra on the blood. It was trading consuming loads of chakra for less power and higher complexity.

At least his sage training could feel that place was overflowing with nature chakra, even if he couldn't mix with his own to use senjutsu he could still use it to power his seals. That would add some more complexity, but would fasten the charge.

But, as much as he was good enough to turn most of his seals into blood-activated, nature-fueled versions without blowing anything up… the one he needed right now – a one-time toad summoning – would take at least three hours to charge, and he would only be able to sustain a small toad for one minute with the small scrolls he was carrying.

But he couldn't blame anyone but himself anyway. If he was the sensei instead of the person he would be talking his ear off for forgetting he couldn't use chakra.

IIIII

Naruto was aroused from his sleep by a sound from outside the ship. Knowing there weren't many people on it, and the only ones were also male, he went outside to check what was going on.

"Ah, good morning," said a man in a red outfit and a weird hat. "It won't be long, if the Val Habar poured our drinks now, we could reach 'em afore they went flat."

"Uh… I have no idea what that means, but I guess that's good?"

"Ya want to come here and see for yerself?"

Naruto did so, going for the deck.

"Just a bit more and you can spot Val Habar in the horizon…"

"Was that why there was that sound?"

"…what sound?" the red-clad man asked. "Nevermind… I can smell the city from here! Or maybe I've got something stuck in my moustache again? Har har!"

"Uh… maybe."

"…You weren't supposed to agree, kiddo…" the red-clad man said, a bit saddened.

Then he quickly got cheerful again. "Are ya excited? A bustlin' bazaar floatin' on a sea of sand. Ain't nothing or nobody ya can't find there. Even the Gathering Hall is there nowadays!  
This here's what I love about being a Caravaneer – leading a big ol' caravan of trusted companions all over the world…  
Well, the 'trusted companions' part is a big of a work in progress, In fact, that's what brings me to Val Habar. I'm looking to recruit three more companions to join me on my travels."

"Just anyone?" Naruto asked, curious.

"Nah, they've got to have the skills to complete the caravan, of course… but the most important is that they have to be good people I can trust with the rest.  
And whatever you're in the market for, be it good folk, good deals, or good intel, Val Habar is the place.  
And the barkeeps don't water down the drinks. Well, not as much as most places, at least… Ahem, but no time for that this trip – I've got companions to hustle up! I won't settle for sorts or layabouts. A caravaneer must put his hopes and dreams in his comrades' hands, ya know?"

"You mentioned, you need to be able to trust them with your life and of the others… sounds nice."

"Why don't you join me? Aren't you going there to be a Hunter? I need one, my last one moved up in the world."

"I'm still learning… In fact, the Palico that is going to teach me, Ace, is taking me to take my license so he could teach me better."

"Ace? Could it be the same Ace that—"

The sound that woke Naruto up repeated.

"That's it! That's the sound that woke me up!"

"You have a good ear," the Caravaneer said. "It is that Remobra swarm over yonder," he pointed. "I wonder what seems to have them in a fuss?"

The answer was a gigantic beast jumping from the sands, the wind it generated throwing the Caravaneer's hat away.

Naruto only had one reaction:

"You have got to be kidding me…"

As the beast rammed the ship, the Caravaneer's hat seemed really lost to the winds.

"A Dah'ren Mohran! I was afraid of that. When you see a Remobra swarm, ya just know that elder dragon can't be far behind," the Caravaneer said. "What out now, don't fall off the ship!"

The beast rammed the sand ship again, and Naruto could see the Caravaneer's hat – right on top of one of its spikes.

"Well, no time for that now…" the Caravaneer tries being dismissive, but really seemed to like that hat. "Listen up Hunter! Unless we can stop it, that Dah'ren Mohran'll crush Val Habar like a Huskberry. I'll send a distress call! Try to buy some time..."

"Later. I need to do something first!" Naruto replied.

"What? What?"

"Your hat!"

Caravaneer's eyes widened in surprise.

"Criminy Hunter, ya got some Duranboros-sized… Well, alright them. I'd thank you kindly for it… if you make it back…"

"I will."

The Caravaneer nodded. "You can climb on that thing's back from its arm! Wait on the deck, and I'll holler when it's safe!"

Naruto grabbed the mast, waiting for the signal…

"Now!"

He run up the enormous arm, crossing the beast's body sidewise to reach that red hat.

"Good on ya, Hunter! But be careful! Looks like it's fixin' to shake ya off – that Moh'ran ain't no moron!"

"Got it! Going back!"

Not giving the giant monster time to shake itself, Naruto put the hat on his head and started running to its arm.

Feeling him, the elder dragon tried raising the arm to trap the young ninja, but he was going too fast and was able to climb to the tip of the arm before it got too steep.

Having no other way, Naruto jumped, landing up rolling on deck. His arm was definitely going to bruise later.

"Remind me to teach'ya how ta land proper later!" the caravaneer said, eyeing Naruto with his hat, still a bit incredulous that the ninja would do that.

"All right, I need ya to buy some time! Showerin' it with cannonballs should give it something to think about."

Naruto got the idea, and went to the back of the ship to get a heavy ball to put in the cannon on the side with the dragon.

"I'm counting on ya!"

The canon was hard to aim, but luckily the opponent was big enough it wasn't needed much. Meanwhile the Caravaneer… watched?

"Down!" the older man yelled, and Naruto luckily had enough time to throw himself to the ground to avoid the enormous flipper-like arm passing over the deck of the ship.

"Don't get too focused on the offense, kiddo! Most opponents give a warning of their next move. It is up to you to see them and avoid. Luckily you got someone more experienced with you this time!"

Naruto nodded. He had been told he did something like that, telegraphing or something. It was good to know knowing the tells of others could save him, specially after seeing proof firsthand, but now he guessed he needed to get rid of his own ones?

Absentmindedly, Naruto decided to put that to use and waited… putting the ball in the canon just in time for it to hit near the sand dragon' eyes.

"Great job Hunter! But we're almost at Val Habar. It's time to pull out all the stops! Mohrans got sensitive ears – it's how they monitor the surface when they're in the sand. Loud noises give 'em fits."

"I don't think I can scream that loud!"

"No, let it get as close as possible, then ring the Hunting Gong on the ship's deck. That oughta send it reeling," said the Caravaneer, pointing to a series of pulleys holding a hammer ready to strike an enormous gong.

"Thing is, I need a little more time to get the gong ready," he continued, pulling the ropes in his hands some more.

"Got it. Keep distracting it."

"No, try to keep near the gong switch, and when I give the sign get ready to give that holler a wallop!"

"Oh… ok!"

Naruto grabbed a nearby pickaxe. Not long after, the elder dragon started trying to jump over the ship.

"Now!"

Naruto did not have to be told twice. The gong rand loudly, making the monster throw itself away.

Naruto didn't have sensitive ears and it almost did the same to _him_ …

Soon, he heard a second, far away but louder gong. Four other ships heard it and started attacking the Dah'rem Mohran, until they finally drew the beast away.

IIIII

"That was a good nap, nyah," Ace said as he left the ship, following the rest of the shaken passengers. "…what did I miss?"

"An attack of Dah'rem Mohran, ya silly cat," said the Caravaneer, approaching the duo. "So, it really was you the kid was talking about."

"Oi, you know transporting people is tiring!" said Ace, punching the older man's thigh.

Then the cat-like being turned to Naruto.

"You know, I'd never think red would work so well with orange, but you make it work. Well, it clashes a bit, but maybe with some more red first, like a coat or something?

"I think this is yours," Naruto said, giving the hat back while looking strangely at Ace, in doubt if the cat was being serious.

The Caravaneer happily accepted it, and from it pulled something. Something that glittered like gold under the sunlight, but seemed much harder… and rarer.

"What's this?" he asked, fascinated.

"That, my friend, is what I am in a quest to find out."


	2. Learning to Hunt

**I'd like to remind everyone that this is a side-story to Hunter With A Divine Third, so the same rules apply here: usually no chakra and no divine powers and, most important, the Monster Hunter side being, at its base, a crossover with a story with a suspiciously similar worldbuilding story that is being mixed with it to explain things like Hunting Horn effects and Wystones in the future.  
I won't say much about it in case people who heard badly about the story think the **_**in-game**_ **story will affect it. I am dealing with its** _ **back**_ **story, of which there is lots of things open, yes, but also lots to work with.**

 **Also, this chapter has basically a big filler about weapons… it was supposed to be important so we can see Naruto choosing his three main close and one ranged weapons, but it ended too big and not very important or interesting in the long run… But when I noticed I wrote so much I had… well, already written a lot and was already finished.**

 **I decided to put it as an Omake… An Omake the side of a whole chapter, actually some words bigger, but it is better than almost a whole chapter just about it.  
So, I don't blame anyone if you skip it.**

 **Infos about the weapons are a mix of the in-game tutorials and GaijinHunter's videos. If you're a fan of Monster Hunter, I really suggest his videos.**

IIIII

At the distance, the loud gong sounded again.

"Is that common here? That giand sand monster attacking?" Naruto asked.

"Nah, not really. We were just unlucky ta meet an Elder Dragon. There _are_ quite a bit of smaller monster attacks, but that's just common everywhere.

Well, presentations. After what ya went through I think we need to. I am the Caravaneer! I run the Caravan! Of course, lots of caravans pass through Val Habar, but mine is the only one worthy of a Capital 'C'. Har har!"

"I'm Naruto! Nice to meet ya! 'm a ninja, but Ace said that being a Hunter would help me on my training!"

Ace nodded by his side.

"Well, I don't know about your training as a ninja, but I can tell ya got what'ya need ta be a good Hunter. Not many, even adults, would be able to hold their own against that monster without preparation."

"Which is one of the most important things in fighting meownsters," Ace added. "You can't be ready for everything, but you have to always do your best and carry more than you need for if you get in trouble."

"Yeah, even if ya got potential I could see ya still lack the basics," agreed the Caravaneer. "Nothing that a couple weeks of hunting can't cure though.

Hey, the Capitac C Caravan is kinda in need of a Hunter fo' now, our last one got a better proposal and I'd leathe ta hold anyone back. So, wadd'ya think of taking his place while learning the gist of the job?"

"Wait, what?" Naruto asked, confused. "This seems like a big job, why are you offering to me?"

"Well kiddo… I myself hunt for treasure. Well, me and The Man," he pointed to a _huge_ man near a furnace, "are searching for the source of something I found we call the 'Article'.

We are needing three new companions after our last ones left. A cook, can't hunt for treasures and mysteries in an empty stomach… or a sober mind, har!"

Naruto had to fight a ghost of a smile at the joke. …it _was_ a joke, right?

"And a merchant. We need a feller who can get what e need, when we need it, no questions asked."

Naruto nodded. A source of information and materials would be useful no matter where.

"And finally Hunter, as I said, that would be you. Traveling the world is dangerous! You would keep the Caravan safe and sound."

"But why me? I just got here, and got no experience!"

"And you practically saved the whole dang city! Alone! …well, with a little help. Trust me kiddo, you may not have experience, but I see what Ace saw. You were _born_ to be a Hunter.

So, what about it?"

Naruto sighed. It felt good, no, great to have someone trusting him so much, but with the trust came the chance of breaking it. And Naruto had no idea of what to do yet, either.

"Well, ok. I'll try to take the job. _But_! I'm new at this, so as soon as you can find a better one to take my place to keep the rest safe…"

"By then you'll be good enough ta keep the job, don't worry. As I said, I see your potential."

"Right!" the Caravaneer clapped his hands. Now we're cooking with Wyvern Fire! This calls for a lil' entrance exam. Just a formality, mind you."

Naruto nodded.

"Now, for your first Capita-C Challenge, I need you to…"

They were interrupted by a groan.

"You know what? I'm famished. Let's do this: fetch me a well-done steak. Heck, even a rare steak will do. To make 'em, you'll need to start with raw meat and then slooooooowly grill it. …I forget how many Os are there in slow, but timing matters! Ya'd better just get out in the wild and try it."

"…in the wild?" Naruto asked, confused. He wasn't sure if that was a good test for hunting skills…

Oh wait!

"I see, I need to get the meat myself from the animals?"

"Yes, ya got it!" the Caravaneer said, with a laugh. "Ya see there?" he asked, pointing at a green tent with a wooden symbol and a woman in green under a green parasol. "That there is the Quest Counter. Eventually you'll be able to stop by there to undertake a whole slew of meaty quests."

"…undertake?"

"To announce you'll be the one who will take it, so no one else does it while you are preparing. We got a whole lot of quests around the land, but we also got a lot of hunters to take them.

But nevermind that. Before you take the meaty quests, first ya got to take _my_ meaty quest! As in, a quest for meat! The guildmarm manning… marming? the counter will point ya in the right direction. She's a peach, she is.

I already pointed ya to The Man, out smithy," he said, pointing again to the big man by the furnace – now Naruto knew it was a forge. "He can take yer materials and forge ya new weapons and armors. He knows the basics ta many kinds of weapons, but be warned that there is a huge difference in armors for long and short range hunting."

Naruto nodded.

"Forging is a hunter must!" the Caravaneer explained. "The Man's been my partner for ages. Ya'd never know he was so dexterous from the look of him. Har!"

He then pointed to a wagon besides the Quest Counter. "Use the house over there as a prep room."

"What? But—"

"Don't be shy! If you're going to be one of us, ya need your own personal space. The Item Box in there is already stocked with a range of different basic weapons. Go ahead and equip the one that suits ya best.

Now, take these with ya: some funds to get yourself ready. And talk with The Man later for a bona fide set of Caravan Armor! This armor is basic, but should work fine for either a gunner or a blademaster – I mean a long or short-distance Hunter."

Before Naruto could start protesting again, he felt the Caravaneer's strong hand on his shoulder.

"You're my Kindred Hunter now. All ya got to do is breeze through a couple tests and make it official. Good luck, har har!"

Naruto found himself being pulled to the forge by The Man.

Now that they were closer, since the big man was measuring him, he could notice his long, pointed ears.

"So, you are the brave one that was on the ship," The Man said with a smile. "The way the Caravaneer said I thought you were taller. Makes it that much more impressive you were the only one to act, I guess."

Naruto didn't know if it was an insult about his height or a compliment about his bravery, so he decided to be quiet.

"He and I are old friends," The Man finished his measurements, turning to his forge to make adjustments in a couple of armor pieces. "I make the armors and equipment from monster pieces and materials. They are most of the time of no use on their own, so don't forget to bring them to me and I'll put my hammer to use… for a price, of course.

But this one… is on the house."

The armor seemed to be made of bone with some metal here and there. It felt solid but not restricting to Naruto. All in all, perfect.

"Thank you mister!"

"No mister little one. If you have to call me something, call me Smithy."

At that point, Ace grabbed Naruto's hand and pulled him to his wagon.

IIIII

"Nyow, let's see… most of these weapons need some training or some muscle to use properly… let's go with the classic Sword and Shield for now, then after you really join we can get you some actual training in the other weapons."

"O…kay, you are the one who knows what they are doing here."

"Don'cha worry minion, you'll be good enough soon with any of them after some training."

"Save for the ones that need more muscle?"

"Which you'll get with training. So, in the end, all you need is training, nyah?"

"Yeah, I guess you are right…"

As ha looked for the Sword and Shield in the box, he could tell already some of the weapons that Ace was talking about. A sword almost the size (and weight, from the little he held it after the owner's death) of Zabuza's sword but two-sided and an enormous hammer, the head bigger than his torso, were definitely in the "need to develop muscles" category, while a katana taller than him and a lance about the same size was definitely in the "need some actual training" one.

Not counting the weird weapons, like… What seemed like a bagpipe on a stick, called a hunting horn? A glaive with a giant beetle? What seemed like a big shield with cutting sides but that was supposed to be used like a blade called a charge blade, a giant two-sided axe called a switch axe, which made it clear there was more to it? A lance with what looked like chambers for something called a gunlance? And the two different sizes of launchers or something, called light and heavy bowguns?

So Naruto was stuck between three choices: Ace's suggestion of Sword and Shield, Dual Blades and a Bow.

"I don't think I'd do well with a Sword and Shield…" he argued, "I mean, I am more of an attack kind of guy, not much to stay behind a shield."

"But are you an evade one? Because without a shield that's what you're stuck with," Ace countered. And then started looking at Naruto more critically. "But I agree, you lack the mass to stand your ground. And from what I saw of you I don't think you'd have the patience for a bow either. I guess Dual Blades are the weapons for you until we can get you some training on the other ones."

"Oi! I can totally learn to use a bow!"

Ace looked at Naruto.

"A bow is not just point and shoot, you know. Nevermind the aim, keeping the right distance is _really_ important, no matter how it seems just because it is a distance weapon.  
But the most important is that you need to deal with coatings and organizing them and whether the bow is an arc or power shot and arc variations and _arrow shot_ variations and… nyeah, bows are great for those with the head to use them, but those like me?" The cat shrugged. "And I doubt you'd do much better, the way you act you're just not the type."

Naruto nodded. If it was the usual "point and shoot" he heard about it'd be one thing, but these hunters turned bow into an art form. And he had no doubt they held the same kind of result for every other weapon.

He would start with dual blades. He would _start_. He would try each and every one of those weapons in that box until he could tell for certain if they fit him or not.

He still had twenty seven days until the chunin exam. He doubted he would master any of them, but become good enough to fight someone who specialized in unnarmed combat?

Weapon chosen, he went to talk to the lady in green. Guildmarm, the Caravaneer called her…

"Hello! I'm Naruto!"

"Hi Naruto, I'm Sophia," the woman answered with a smile. She seemed just a couple years older than Ayame. "Do you want my help wth anything?"

"Yeah, that guy on the red hat said that I could join your group if I passed some tests," he answered, pointing at the Caravaneer.

"Did the boss mention a new hunter? And so young?" the woman started talking to herself, looking at Naruto. "I guess I could go check with him, but that would be awkward…  
Ahem, yes, I've been expecting you. Welcome to the Quest Counter!"

"…I heard everything you said, you know."

"Oh… did I say that aloud?" the lasy asked with a cringe.

Naruto decided just staring was enough.

"Well, I'm sure we'll get to know each other very well. So let's get down to business, Doodle. …Can I call you 'Doodle'?"

"Why 'Doodle'?"

"Because I like drawing!" she answered with a smile.

Naruto sighed, but shrugged. At least that'd make her happy.

"Well, at the moment I'm afraid I can only offer you Caravan Challenges. If you make the grade, though, I can start shoveling some real quests your way. Fun times!"

Naruto nodded. It made sense, start with D-ranks and then do C-ranks. …He hoped they weren't _all_ like D-ranks though…

Oh wait, his first mission was to make a steak!

IIIII

Ok, so his first mission was not just cooking. He had to take the meat right from the beast itself!

An herbivore called an aptonoth that neemed like a mix of reptile and cow. He soon found a family of three, that started barking and running away.

Without a second thought, he ran after them, jumped and stabbed them in the back of the neck.

And then, the guilt arrived.

He just killed a couple of animals for nothing else but becoming a hunter! They weren't a danger to anyone!

"Is that your first taste of a kill, kiddo?" The Caravaneer asked from beside him. Naruto could only nod.

"It is always the hardest. It is why it is our first challenge, no matter how I made it seem it was made up on the spot.  
Don't worry, you'll get used to it. These are herbivores. They are at the bottom. They would be eaten by something sooner or later. And what we usually hunt, they are carnivores. They will not care if what they eat is a herbivore, another carnivore or even human.  
This is a ritual. Being bloodied. Now, complete it, and if you got the stomach to keep going, get up and make something useful of those you killed."

Naruto nodded. This would happen sooner or later. As a hunter or a ninja. If he reacted like that to killing an herbivore…

He started carving meat from the aptonoths. From time to time the Caravaneer gave a correction on how to carve properly, but never moved a finger to help. Naruto was glad for that. It was his kill, his test, his responsibility.

All useful meat being removed, Naruto washed his hands in a nearby creek and prepared the portable spit to cook the meat.

IIIII

This time, it was time to learn about combinations. The Caravaneer didn't even pretend anymore, he outright said that is was to see if he had enough skills to do them, saying that they are an important part of Hunting.

"Sure, you can buy most things, but many can't be bought, they have to be made. In fact, many you can buy some of the things needed, but unless you wish to pay more than it is worth you need to hunt for the remaining pieces and combine them yourself.  
Gathering may seem otherwise, but it is an important part of hunting."

So here he was, collecting herbs and blue mushrooms. At least Sophia's drawings made them easy to recognize.

"Alright, now all I need is some honey…"

He looked some more in the areas he had been allowed to go through, searching for a honeycomb.

And he found one. It was bursting, really, Naruto never saw one before that was dripping the honey!

With one of his sowrds he punctured it, quickly filling a jar he carried just for this… and instinctly jumped to the side.

Pink with a blue back and head, what seemed like a mix of giant plucked chickens and lizards, with sharp claws where a chicken would have wings and some sort of webbed collar on their neck, were attacking.

Jaggis, according to the drawings Sophia had shown him. A risk he could meet on this mission.

They were faster than they looked, Naruto admitted as he barely rolled from one's jumping attack. But as ironic as it sounded coming from him, their only advantage was numbers. Their claws barely scratched the armor. One cut here, one stab there, and soon Naruto had no more Jaggis around him.

That was also a wakeup call… but of a different kind.

Nevermind killing, since he already went through it and as sickened as he got they were trying to kill him first. Naruto usually just made clones in his battles and made a strategy later – the very same thing the Jaggis had done. But the difference this time was that _he_ was on the other side.

He just saw how others did his old strategy of "just throw numbers at them until they go down". if they are close in skill it may be valid, weakening the opponent, but in this matter the best they were would be distraction for a bigger opponent.

Would he be able to keep going until the opponent was weakened enough if _this_ was their difference?

His fight against Zabuza came to mind, but even there Sasuke had helped and he had a plan. Against Kiba? Plan.

He needed to get better. So the clones got better. So the clones got worth. So the clones were not just a bunch of punching Jaggis.

The mission was mostly for gathering and combining and maybe some self-defense. But Naruto got out of it with a new idea of himself.

He was weak. His idea of just adding numbers was weak.

The only reason he got so far was because he could make plans to use them well.

He needed to use them better.

He needed to make them stronger. Stronger Naruto, stronger clones, right?

IIIII

"So, what do you think?" asked the Caravaneer to the man beside him, looking at the scene from a binocular.

"Sure," the younger man agreed. "I can see the potential in him. Don't think it'll take long before he may even take my place."

IIIII

"You look like something big happened, nyah," said Ace, looking at the tired face of his new minion.

"Yeah, I guess… I just noticed how weak I am compared to everyone."

"You are not weak," Ace dismissed it. "You are just not applying yourself to your strengths yet. We will fix this soon enough."

"And what are my strengths? All I can do special is shadow clones. And I just saw from the Jaggis that numbers… they don't mean much when you are much weaker than the other side. I mean sure, I was able to get this far with some plans I made at the last instant, but—"

"And I'll stop you right there."

"Uh?"

"There is a big difference between being weak but having numbers and being weak but having numbers _and a plan_. A **big** difference.  
Actually, just having a plan, period, besides just 'hit as hard as you can' makes a big difference."

Ace looked at Naruto with such intensity the boy was surprised when the cat-like being grabbed his hand and started pulling him outside.

"Caravaneer! I'm taking the boy to see the Gathering Hall!"

The man just nodded, recognizing the seriousness in the feline's voice.

That place… was _big_! And full of people too! And all of those were Hunters?

"Yes, nyah," Ace answered before Naruto could voice it. "All hunters, all with their own caravans.  
And do you want to know the secret to their success?"

"Of course!" Naruto answered, excited.

He was quickly pulled to a side of the place. A side filled with books.

"These are guides written by different hunters before them," Ace explained. "Meownster patterns, strengths, weaknesses, purrsible strategies for different weapons or group formations. You want the secret to their success, they put it out in detail. All you need is to read and make a plan of your own fit for your strengths."

Naruto frowned. "I'm not very good at thinking ahead… I'm more of a 'think on the spot' person…"

"Most of us are, kiddo," an older woman nearby said. "It's why we took a job that no matter how much you read before you need to keep on your toes.  
But that doesn't mean that having a base plan before isn't important. Just because you never heard of the name Barroth before and can't find any info doesn't mean you'll go there without some food and healing potions in case you need them, it just means you need to see what it can do for yourself and adjust your plans as you fight it."

Naruto nodded in understanding.

"Plans are important," Ace finished. "Your kind was at first weaker than the meownsters. What let you win was your determination, your capacity to work together and, most impurrtantly, your ability to do so _smart_. You fight by defending yourselves, finding the other side's tells and weaknesses, and taking advantage of them. My kind eventually learned to do so too.

"Our ability to plan, our ability to _think_ , is what _really_ separates us from the monsters," the lady finished.

"So stop knocking yourself down for 'needing a plan' to be a good fighter. _Everyone_ needs a plan. What you need to learn is how to make the best plan possible even before the beginning and work from there."

"Oh, so that's what this is about?" the lady asked, surprised. "I thought it was just the typical newbie that thinks just jumping in and slashing is a good idea."

"Nah, his case is that he thinks himself weak _because_ he can't just do that yet. Thank you for your comments, miss…"

"Agatha. And no problem. We Hunters are a community, always open to new ones and willing to give a helping work to those in need. As long as you work hard for the fruits of your own labor."

She waved and left, Naruto waving back until she got out of his view.

He was glad. He didn't meet many people who were nice to him just for the sake of being nice.

"Come on," Ace said poking Naruto's side, "we have to present ourselves to the Guildmaster."

The Guildmaster was a short old man, sitting in the corner of a counter where three woman dressed like Sophia were, one in blue, one in yellow and one in red. He had long ears like The Man, and his feet were visible and bird-like.

As they approached, he took a lungful of his pipe.

"Aren't you a bit young to be here kiddo?"

Before Naruto could say anything Ace already put his paw on his mouth.

"He is like that with everyone."

"It does not make me any less right in this case though," the Guildmaster replied dismissively.

Ace nodded, "You are right, for most places he would be considered too young to become a Hunter. But in his village he is already considered warrior. Also, I can see potential in him, even if it is hidden for now."

Naruto looked confused at Ave. Hidden? First time he said that.

"Must be hidden deeply," the Guildmaster added. Naruto's eyebrow twitched.

"Very, very deeply," Ace agreed, deflating Naruto instantly. "But! It _is_ there. And such a potential should not be wasted."

The Guildmaster took another lungful, looking deeply into the eyes of a Naruto confused if he should feel insulted or not right now.

"Well, for what it is worth, welcome to the Gathering Hall. Where we provide the butter for your adventure sandwich. I run the place on behalf of the Hunter's Guild, hich exist solely for folks that, I'm being told, you have the potential of joining. So nice to meetcha and all that."

"Uh-uhm, nice to meet you," Naruto said, leaving behind the insulting manner he was treated. Looking around, he was clearly the younger person around after all, he had reason to be worried for him.

Now, Val Habar recently revolves around the Gathering Hall. It used to be just an outpost in the desert, but people nearby began gathering around, and so we decided to open a Gathering Hall in the town. And so people started coming to town for the Gathering Hall too, and the town's businesses grew.  
Hunters hunt monsters, which draws caravans looking to hire them for protection, which means more people here to buy and sell. I think you get what we are talking about. So I shouldn't have to explain that my particular Gathering Hall specializes in caravan hunters. Without hunters, a caravan is just a caravan't!... that's what I _wish_ my dad used to say, but my dad was boring."

Naruto, who was just nodding along, just looked at the old man confused at that.

"Ah, so you _were_ listening," the wyverian said with a smile. "At any rate, you should meet plenty of hunters here, so try and make friends."

Naruto nodded at that. Agatha seemed like a good person to be a friend, he hoped she wouldn't mind if he asked some questions from time to time.

"Next up: hunter registration!"

IIIII

"Hey Naruto," the Caravaneer called as soon as the young ninja exited the Gathering Hall.

Accompanying him was a young man, in his early twenties tops, with his orange hair shaved really short save for a bit in front of his head that he brushed backwards.

"This here is the Ace Cadet," the older man said. "He agreed to teach you some tips on using the weapons ya got."

"Ace… Cadet?" Naruto asked, confused.

"Weird, isn't it? It makes more sense when you know what we are talking about," said the young man with a laugh. "You see, there is a team of hunters called the Ace Hunters. Those three are considered the best ones in the field. And _I_ was chosen to be the fourth member of their team and learn from them! I'm being trained by some of the best there are!"

"Ah, I see, so Ace Cadet because you are getting training from the Ace team?"

"Exactly! And speaking of training…"

The man then turned serious, looking right at Naruto's eyes.

"I saw your entrance exams. I saw you got some training in knives. The problem is that you were treating your blades like long knives."

"But, aren't they?" Naruto asked, confused. "I mean, they are just long blades, and knives are shorter ones…"

"I once thought like this. Most people do when they first grab them. But that's a common mistake most people soon grow out of if they survive enough."

That last part made Naruto gulp.

"Come on, let's get your weapons so I can show you the basics."

IIIII

"Well, this is it. I showed you all the weapons, the pros and cons that I know of. Time to go fight your first 'big monster'," the Ace Cadet said, offering him the Dual Blades.

Naruto _looked_ at his weapons, before picking the one he was going to do battle with.

The Bow and the Hunting Horn were useful. The Bow seemed the better distance weapon for him, and the Hunting Horn affected a group, both good for him that used clones. But, here by himself…

The Dual Blades, those definitely got his interest.

But the Insect Glaive… that one got his attention.

Looking at the weapon in Naruto's hands, and the Dual Blades still in his, the Ace Cadet couldn't hold back a smirk.

IIIII

The beast was released on one side of the Arena, Naruto coming from the other.

It was _big_ , Naruto thought. Maybe not as big for another Hunter, but it was taller than him. And even longer.

It was like a giant Jaggi, but with many small, pointy needles on its back along the spine. …thus the name Great Jaggi, he guessed.

And it was much faster than the size would make him think. Ran like a final year academy student, jumped like a final year academy student.

Naruto was currently weaker than a final year academy student. So, when the beast noticed him and _barked to the air_ , he started sweating.

Then it jumped again… right on top of him.

On instinct, Naruto threw himself to the side, and quickly turned that fall into a roll. Right on time to block the bite from the Great Jaggi with the shaft of the glaive.

He jumped back a bit, trying to open some space. The lizard seemed to agree, turning around quickly… which meant that Naruto got hit on the side by its hard tail and thrown to the ground breathless.

Breath that did not come back when the monster stepped on top of his chest.

Desperate, he let go of his weapon, that he couldn't swing properly in that position anyway, grabbing a carving knife the Caravaneer had given him earlier and punching it in the monster's thigh.

It worked, the Great Jaggi jumping away, taking the knife on its leg with it. Naruto promptly rolled back up, looking at the monster that kept looking at him from its side.

Then it _thew itself to the side_ in an attempt to hit Naruto with its whole body weight. Luckily the boy was quick enough to slide under it, grabbing the glaive back on the way.

"Don't just defend yourself! Attack!" sounded the voice of the Ace Cadet from the high audience seats. Naruto didn't even notice there was someone there…

And it wasn't the time to do so, so he decided to just listen to the advice.

He ran towards the reptile, glaive raised, and stuck it to the ground, rising like a polevault athlete. But as he reached the top of the swing he pressed the trigger of the glaive, being thrown even higher.

It was a confused Great Jaggi that just had its prey jump over it. It was a pained Great Jaggi that had a blade penetrating its hip the next second.

Naruto was quickly whipped by the tail again for the trouble.

He quickly rolled away, avoiding the angry bite and answering with a bash from the back of the glaive. The Great Jaggi's head twisted a bit, but it soon tried answering with a shoulder check.

But Naruto was getting his measure, and avoided the attack.

And it was _then_ that all those books made sense. Sure, they only gave an idea, nothing like seeing the real deal. But an idea was better than nothing.  
Knowing how the monster moved, what it could do, and having a good idea how to avoid them, those were how Naruto could win. He could think. He could plan. He could survive.

He could win.

As the monster jumped on him, Naruto pushed the glaive down on the ground and made it 'fire', pushing him backwards in a flip while the blade flew through the air. The Great Jaggi missed.

Naruto didn't, the glaive cutting a line through the monster's face and taking off one of its eyes.

Enraged, the monster hopped back and did its howl-like call. But no other monster came to help.

Taking advantage of the opening, Naruto jumped with the glaive, hitting the monster in the head and falling on its back.  
The monster started happing around and twisting, trying to pry the young ninja off, but Naruto held firmly, trying to get his knife to attack it while he had the position advantage—

The knife that was lodged on its leg…

Taking his admittedly meager ninja experience on jumping from moving things (actually, he was pretty sure jumping in desperation from a crumbling building while escaping punishment for a prank was close to all he did of that instance for now… something to talk to the old man about), he stuck the glaive on the monster's flank and fired it, being thrown as far as he could away while the monster suffered most of the glaive's 'punch'.

Angered, the Great Jaggi stood up and ran after the boy… only to be surprised by said boy running back at it. Not thinking much of if, the reptile pounced, only for the boy to skip to the side and wrench out the blade stuck to its leg.

Feeling a different smell coming from the beast, Naruto finally remembered something important, and let the insect fly. It stuck the Great Jaggi in the snout where Naruto bashed it earlier, not enough to do much damage but enough to leave it confused, before returning to the boy and _stinging him_.

It was quick, Naruto wasn't even able to raise his hand to shove it away before it was gone… and then he felt it, the rush of energy to his muscles.

Naruto took a stance that felt more comfortable. Holding the glaive in one hand right in the middle, free to swing, the other hand near the tip for support when needed but not rwally holding it.

The beast jumped.

Naruto jumped back backwards, not much but enough for the blade to cut its torax when he swung the arm during the jump.

It quickly hopped back, drooling and confused.

Naruto took advantage of this, polevaulting once more and hitting its head while in the air, knocking the beast down. As it tried standing again, Naruto wasted no time and jumped on its back, this time _with_ a knife in his hands.

The monster struggled, trying to pry him off, but he kept stabbing until it fell down, fighting to stand up again. Feeling the strength boot running away from him, Naruto ran and swung the glaive to the monster's neck.

It kept struggling for a bit, but its eyes soon glazed and it stopped moving.

Naruto wasted no time removing his helmet and leaving the arena

IIIII

"I was terrible, wasn't I?" Naruto asked from the bench, not even raising his eyes to see the Ace Cadet's face.

"Nah, not really," the older man said seriously. "I mean, sure, an experienced Hunter would have been much better, but that's not what we had there: we had a newbie without any info and using his new weapon for the first time in a battle. Under these circumstances, you were a natural."

He put his hand on Naruto's shoulder, making the younger boy look up.

"I still have one free day, and I can tell training you a little bit more will pay up. So, what do you say? Up for a second run with one of those tomorrow?

Naruto thought about it… and nodded.

"Excellent! There aren't many works on the Insect Glaive yet, it is a very new weapon, but why don't you try reading a bit on one of the other weapons for tonight?"

"…reading?" Naruto made a confused face.

"Yeah, I know, doesn't sound very fun, but you aren't reading them for fun, you are reading them for the info the other hunters wrote on them. They are their personal experience given word. They are as good as you can get but for letting them try to show you how they do it or watching an actual hunt with them in.  
…well, I read _some_ books for fun, but those were after I got some experience reading already so I learned to imagine the scene instead of just reading the words."

IIIII

Jiraiya finally arrived in Val Habar. It was hard both finding a boat already going there and convincing them to let him travel with them. Seemed like Ace's word was much better than he gave the talking cat credit.

Asking around, it wasn't hard to find out about Naruto – it is hard to miss a twelve-years-old dressed in orange (when he doesn't want to disappear at least).

And it was thus that Jiraiya (after a bit of gazing at some female hunters) found Naruto…

"—as a rule you should focus initially on the legs of tall monsters, for when weakened they wouldn't stand the weight and fall, and only then try to go for other targets. The dual blades' lack of reach also means a gain of speed, which means they are better suited for this technique than heavier—"

…reading?

IIIII

 **Omake:**

"Let's begin with the GreatSword. A classic, really," said the Ace Cadet, holding Naruto's giant sword with his two hands.  
"The commander usually explains it as 'the greatsword hits hard, very hard, that is why we use it, that is why we love it'. And basically, that's it. It got the strength and the cutting power. Find a weak spot, charge your blade, and go for it.  
…But just swing and slash is not all it has. It also has its weaknesses, like all weapons. The main one, carrying one is a heavy weight."

"I can imagine," answered Naruto, seeing the older male walking slowly with his sword out.

"That's because I'm carrying it unsheathed. That's an attack stance, not a walking one. And to tell the truth, unless you have the opponent down and ready to take the hit, you always want to sheathe it when not attacking.  
Come here, I'll teach you how to crry it sheathed."

Naruto went to the Ace Cadet, who promptly put the sword on his back.

"Now, when you walk, you'll want to walk a bit hunched. That way, the weight pushes you forward instead of backwards.  
And when you swing, try to move your body before it, to add your weight to the swing. It gets much easier."

Naruto did as he said, rolling his shoulder as he pulled the blade. It slid in a heavy swing.

But beside the initial cut, Naruto had trouble with the swings. He could move the blade, by throwing his weight on it, but not very precisely, and he had trouble moving between swings.

"Yeah, that's normal," said the Ace Cadet. "GreatSwords aren't really made for swinging many times. They are more like get to a good position, swing, sheathe again, and repeat."

"That makes sense," Naruto agreed, trying to sheathe it again… by lifting the blade.

The Ace Cadet promptly put his hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Naruto, time for a question that will be very important for many weapons, not just the GreatSword:

How well do you roll?"

The blond just looked at him confused. Until he noticed the older man was serious in his question.

"Uhm, I can roll a bit? I mean, it is a basic fitness exercise?"

The Ace Cadet shook his head. "Naruto, rolling is the most basic, the most underrated but also the most _useful_ evasion technique."

Naruto's eyes widened in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I mean exactly what I said. Block, if you do it wrong you could be pushed down or to the side and left open. Parry, you risk taking the blow. Try to _walk_ or _hop_ to the side, you risk not being fast enough and leave just as much open to be hit. Throw yourself away from the strike, you leave yourself open until you recover.  
Now, when you roll away, to any side, you make yourself smaller meaning there is less to hit, you basically throw yourself, meaning it is fast, and you gain momentum to either stand up again, throw an attack, or do something you'd have trouble usually, like in this case, sheathing a GreatSword. Maybe you could even do all three if you were good enough."

Naruto nodded, and did as the Ace Cadet said, rolling with his hand on the blade and taking advantage of the momentum to draw it back to his back.

The Ace Cadet nodded with a smile. "That's great! Now the only thing I didn't tell you about the GreatSword yet is that they are big enough to use as emergency shields. But… don't do it. It is a terrible shield, it can't stand much damage before dulling the blade."

Naruto nodded, but with a grimace on his face.

"Yeah, I know, not your cup of tea right?" Naruto nodded. "I thought so, but hey, maybe someday you can see the potential in it."

"Eh, maybe. Zabuza seemed very good with one. But as I am…"

"Yeah, not enough muscle yet. You can train with it until you're good, but would take a while until you get natural. But hey, better to know, just in case you're working with someone who uses one or something like it.  
And speaking of something like it…"

He took the sword from Naruto and put on his back a hammer. Naruto's giant hammer, to be more precise.

"As you can see, with some differences on how you balance with them, a GreatSword feels very close to a Hammer. Also, you know, the fact a hammer smashes while a sword cuts, and that being heavier it causes more damage.  
But the big difference is… while for a GreatSword you look for the best place to hit, for a hammer you already know: right in the head!"

"Uh? What do you mean?" Naruto asked, confused. Why a hammer would be for the head?

"Well, let's imagine you are fighting against a person. Now, if the person attacks you bellow the neck, which is more dangerous hitting the same places, a knife or a hammer?"

"A knife," Naruto answered quickly. " A hammer could break bones and be dangerous in soft spots, but a knife could cause bleeding and would be even more dangerous in those soft spots. Oh…"

"Yes, above the neck most places are already covered by the skull, and the few that aren't won't be much more damaged by a knife save for loping the piece out. While a hammer could break the skull, and even if it doesn't it could stun the victim if hit hard and often enough. Same idea against a monster."

Naruto nodded. So GreatSword for bellow the neck, Hammer for above. Made sense.

"As clear as Kecha Wacha snort, right? Also, just a tip, some running before an attack adds a momentum as well, and since a Hammer is bigger every little bit helps a lot.

And since I talked about the Hammers, time for something… not unlike, but completely different: the Hunting Horn!" This time it was time for the bagpipe on a stick. "Try not to bl—"

"I know what you are going to say and if you do I'm pretty sure I'd be justified beating you with it even if I do it wrong."

"Aw, come on man, I thought you were cool…"

"Same here, until you tried _this_ joke."

"Now," the Ace Cadet tried to ignore the verbal burn, "this time I'll talk a bit more about the weapon, because the others I only know the basics… but _this one_ is one I use, a lot!

You see, the Hunting Horn is a good weapon by itself, but it is both a weapon… and an instrument. Get it? Hunting Horn! Ahem. The reason I said it is not unlike a hammer is because you can use it as one, hitting your opponents, mostly in the head because it is blunt… But you can also use it to juice up yourself and your allies with its sweet melody effects!"

"Melody effects? How does _that_ work?"

"Well…" the Ace Cadet thought, "I'm not a researcher, but from what I heard it uses some ancient dragonian science to resonate with the Hunters around you for a while. It is said that during the war they could use the right melodies to change nature itself for a few seconds."

Naruto nodded. He had _no_ idea what that meant, but neither did the Ace Cadet despite using it a lot from what he said, and he was kinda glad he didn't try to bullshit an explanation.

He also decided that it would be nice if he could use one, to give some extra juice to his clones at least.

"Well, the Hunting Horn can each make three different 'notes'. Each horn makes different sounds and different notes, so with one exception each horn will have their own songs. So, you play the notes in the order by swinging the horn, even if you hit something while swinging, and it will play the song if you twist _here_ and raise the "singing" part of the horn. Boom, melody effects! And you can even play an encore quickly even during the fight, although you'll have to avoid the monsters, not music fans I guess – which is important, because few people know that the songs have a second, stronger effect if you play them again before the effect is over, sometimes even making it last longer. Because, as I said, unfortunately they don't last forever. I mean, we wish, right?"

"Yeah, something about the Hunting horn resonating with the hunter for a while?"

"Yup. But resonance with a song is temporary, and the hunters will soon go back to their natural form. And do you remember when I said there is a song that every Hunting Horn I know of can play?"

"Yeah," the boy nodded.

"It is usually called 'Self Improvement' and it makes you feel lighter, making you faster, as if the Hunting Horn isn't even there. With it affecting you it becomes one of the fastest weapons there is, but it is still hard to play it without some training. So, yeah, training is still important.

Come on, take some practice swings!"

Naruto did. And, as the Ace Cadet said, he could hear three different sounds escaping the weapon, based on how he held it as he swung.

It was hard and would take some practice, specially since this was the first musical instrument he ever tried playing… And also…

"The sound is… a bit annoying."

"Well, this is the basic one. Better ones mostly have better sounds, trust me." He took the Hunting Horn from Naruto and put it in the "tried"pile, and now seemed to have no idea what to try.

"Hm, maybe we could do the Dual Blades, since he already used them?" Naruto heard him talking to himself, "But I'd like him to try Sword and Shield first, which would also need to try the lance…"

"What about that long sword?" Naruto asked, curious about the gigantic – but thin – samurai blade.

"What – the long sword? Why not?"

He got the sword from the pile and carried it to Naruto, strapping it diagonally on his back.

"This is a Tachi, but most call it a LongSword. The Ace Commander calls it a 'tool of grace and precision'. I call it a charging blade.  
You see, the more you attack, the more you charge it, and when you charge it enough you can release the energy into an attack called Spirit Slash. They are wide-area attacks though, so be careful with allies around.  
Besides that, it is a lot like the GreatSword in that you really need to position yourself – it is not an easy blade to swing without some training. But some of the attacks you can do with it also count as evades, so for those who get good enough with it it _is_ pretty good. Just… not for me.  
And finally, by using many Spirit Slashes, you can use what is called a Spirit Roundslash, which makes your strikes stronger the more you hit. The blade itself is usually a bit on the weak side, but the Spirit Roundslash fixes that up nicely. Also if you go for it try to go for the middle of the blade instead of the tip, it is the most damaging area."

Naruto took a few swings with it. As he had been told it was a bit awkward at first, but soon got better. The blade was a bit hard to control due to the size, but that would come with some experience with it.

 _If_ he got some experience with it… he just didn't feel like this blade _connected_ to him. Like… it wasn't for him.

"And since I mentioned that to me it feels like a charge blade, since it got to be fed energy by attacking with it… why don't we go into the actual ChargeBlade?" the Ace Cadet asked, holding the wider sword that looked like an upside-down shield.

"It's the hot new weapon all the kids are buzzin' about. And _I_ am a fan of it myself. It is a mighty morphing weapon that can be switched between sword-and-shield and axe configs. …Remind me of teaching you Sword-and-Shield right after we see this one."

Naruto nodded, and waved his hand for the Ace Cadet to continue. It made sense, he did think it was a sharpened shield with a handle at first, probably the sword was removable? And now he _could_ see it being used as an axe…

"Now, as a sword-and-shield combo its attacks are limited in power and reach, but they gather energy each time they hit. Remember how you charged the LongSword the same way? But the _axe_ config is when you're ready for maximum offense. It uses any energy you stored up for increased power and range.  
The idea is to slice with the sword until the time is right, then morph into the axe and get choppin'! Like BAM-BAM-BOOSHA!"

Naruto was glad _he_ was holding the ChargeBlade right now, the Ace Cadet's movements did not feel like the best. …but again, he seemed to know what he was talking about, maybe he just looks stupid because he is without the blade?

Meh, better not risk it.

"…wait, I lost my train of thought…"

'There was more that you lost, dude…'

"Oh, and another perk of the ChargeBlade: it can charge phials with stored energy for Elemental Discharges!  
Basically you amass energy in Sword Mode, charge up some phials with it, and then unleash it all in Axe Mode! You might call that the ChargeBlade's basic combat loop."

Naruto nodded a bit hesitantly. The guy seemed really passionate about this weapon, but it didn't seem like his cup of tea…

He did wonder how elemental discharges worked, though.

"But wait a sec – I'm getting ahead of myself here, aren't I? Lemme explain hor charging works.

As you land hits with the sword, you'll notice the weapon start to get all shiny and shimmering with absorbed energy. It's time to press here," he pointed to a trigger near holes that Naruto now noticed held some bottles that must be the phials, "to charge your phials with that collected energy! Then, in Axe Mode, press here to release it with an Elemental Discharge," this time he showed a button near the base of the handle, out of the way to avoid pressing on purpose but still easy to reach, a second one bigger and more visible probably the one that released the sword from the axe. "KA-DOOSH goes the charge blade! The effects differ on phial type, but each Element Discharge uses up one phial of energy, so make 'em count!

Oh, and make sure you keep charging those phials. Too much energy left in your sword and it'll start bouncing off monsters."

Naruto nodded. He didn't quite get _what_ he was charging on it or what an Element Discharge actually was, but he supposed it was another dragonian thing and he'd learn about an elemental Discharge better when he put it in action.

"Ok, here's what I recommend for when you do use it: build energy with sword attacks, and use it to charge your phials. When it's time to get serious, morph to the axe, and let loose an Element Discharge. That'll be enough to keep a beginner like you busy for a while… but when you're ready, that's when you can get in some advanced techniques.

And I'm talking _advanced_ -advanced stuff… You play your cards right and the axe is MEGA-powerful. Like, KA-BADOOOOOM!"

Ok, that got Naruto curious.

"There's a special axe attack called the Amped Elemental Discharge – this puppy unleashes the _true_ power of those phials. Pull off repeating Elemental Discharges and you'll finish with an amped version! Afterwards your axe will automatically morph back to sword mode, but the damage will have been done… KA-POOSH!

…Come on! Give it a try!"

Naruto raised an eyebrow and tried it. Using the sword and shield version was just pulling the sword out like he thought, but when he clicked the sword back to try the axe… the shield _spun_! And the sword _grew_!

That was big! And seemed like it'd do a _lot_ of damage.

It was a bit slow though, but the weight was probably sent to the damage.

Still not Naruto's taste but he could see how it was _so cool_!

"Ah right! Since we are talking about charges… Something nice I was pushing aside until we talked about the ChargeBlade is that you can also use a small charge for a stronger attack on some weapons. Feel the higher part on the handle?" Naruto did feel a part more raised near the top of it. "Press it for a quick charge, it'll let you use a stronger attack. The timing must be right though, too early or too late and you'll waste most of it. There are techniques that can simulate this with the GreatSword and the Hammer, but I'm not good at them.

Ah, something cool with the sword-and-shield Charge Blade that the actual Sword and Shield can't do, if you thrust with the shield you can do an attack with it. It'll try to turn into an Axe, but it won't really do it for lack of a sword… but you can also use it to change quickly right into an Elemental Discharge! _That you can send to your shield_ , making it much stronger _and_ making the Axe attacks stronger too since they use the shield as a weapon!

And you can change between forms at any time, even if you don't have charge.

The fun part about the ChargeBlade is the infinite combo possibilities."

Naruto had to admit, it _did_ sound _very_ interesting. Maybe with some training he could invest more in it. Bot for his primary weapon, right now…

"Now, since I said I'd tell you about the Sword and Shield now, I think right after it we'd go to Lance, which also uses a shield, and the Gunlance. Then Dual Blades, since we'll have already covered the basic one."

"I already used Dual Blades though," Naruto said.

"Yeah, and I already said you did it wrong," the Ace Cadet said, seriously, something which surprised Naruto. "So just wait until we get to it, ok?

And then, since we already covered the ChargeBlade, the SwitchAxe. And finally the Insect Glaive. This way I think we cover all the weapons used around here.

So, Sword and Shield," he said, handing Naruto said weapon while taking the ChargeBlade to the "done" pile.

"So," the older boy took a pose as if a salesman, "are you looking for a weapon that offers quick strikes and good mobility? Then, by goshalos, _this_ is the weapon for you. It even comes with a shield for blocking, making it a good choice for noobs… Er, not that more experienced Hunters can't take advantage of it just as well. _Ahem!_ The one bummer is that the damage dealt per hit is pretty weak. Bot there's a workarounf for that…"

Naruto perked up about this, curious despite havng chosen already to give the weapon a pass earlier…

"Attack a _lot_!"

…Yep, giving it a pass.

"But the best perk of the Sword and Shield, your shield hand are able to use items while the weapon is drawn. Most weapons leave both hands occupied, in this one the shield is on the arm so you still have a free hand!"

 _That_ was more interesting… but not that much.

"Well, besides that… it _is_ the most basic weapon… but basic does not mean weak, by a _long_ shot. As you saw, the ChargeBlade has this as the base. The Dual Blades, that you used, are just smaller swords instead of a sword and a shield. And most important, in the beginning it was _the_ most used weapon of the human army. I mean, hard to master, but easy to start, there are _many_ strategies to using them in group, offensive and defensive."

Naruto could imagine. A simple but practical offense, a simple but practical defense. Boring, but practical on both sides of the line. And with the shield hand free…

"It may sound like I'm joking, but the 'basic' Sword and Shield is the weapon of choice of _many_ advanced Hunters. It hits fast, has many combo paths, got a good guard, you can use the shield for impact damage attacks… Did I mention it hits fast? Well, weapons made of monsters sometimes have special properties, and some of them _really_ benefit from attacking fast. And did I mention you can use items with it? Because to many pros this is _huge_!"

Naruto nodded. The more he talked about it the more the basic Sword and Shield seemed like a great weapon.

"And from the Sword and Shield, we go to the Lance… and shield. But since there are many kinds of swords and only two of lances we call it just Lance.

Among the classics, even comparing to the Sword and Shield. The big difference between their shields is that the Lance's is bigger, so it makes hard to use items. But it also improves the defense."

"Why not a shield a big lighter but that lets you use items?" Naruto asked, curious. "That way you get the best of both, right?"

"…I don't really know, something to ask the Ace Lancer someday I guess," the Ace Cadet answered. "I mean, I can see a sword and shield with a slightly heavier shield but not enough to stop using items… Sure, it would be a bit unwieldly at first but…" he shook his head, "but am hybrid like this would only be really useful for someone that uses both sword and lance, at least on the sword side. Like in the classic battles, sacrifice some mobility for defense. I'll tell the truth, I have no idea what would be the downside on the Lance side though, I'm not much of a Lance user…

That said! I _am_ being trained by one of the best! And the shield's great defense is one of the Lance's biggest selling points, from what I got. Because its focus is not on outright offense, but in _counters_. But of course, the big shield means the person is _slow_ , so some extra mobility would be good for a hybrid user, right…

Of course, the extra weight would be good for a charge, but the lack of it would be good for a _recover_ from the charge…"

"So… does that cover the basics of the Lance?" Naruto asked. He really did not feel like sacrificing mobility like this, so things like Hammer, GreatSword, ChargeBlade and apparently Lance were out.

"Uh? Uhm, yeah, I guess. Oh right, it got one of the best reaches, too. You're forced more into back and sidesteps than rolls with it though. But it is more for positioning than defense, so not that big a deal. Oh, and as I said you can charge _very_ easily to cover ground, or sidestep really fast once you know the technique."

"Thanks, but… I'm more into mobility, you know…"

"It _is_ mobile… when you know how to use it. But I can see how it can push away those that don't know much about it yet. Also, your build does push you for the more acrobatic weapons, I think…

So, the Gunlance," he said, not going much into the Lance after all since Naruto wasn't interested. Naruto quickly got the chambered lance and its shield. "As you can see, it does have as heavy a shield as the Lance… but the Gunlance itself is a whole other weapon. You probably won't like it much either since it is mostly defensive, but, as the Ace Lancer said, 'when Gunlancers attack, their vigorous thrusts can result in an explosive climax'."

At that point, Naruto snorted.

"…And no, he never figured out what he said," the Ace Cadet laughed with him.  
"But the big deal of the Gunlance is that it is less mobile… but it has the ability to fire shells."

"…Fire shells? Like a bow?"

"Like a Bowgun."

Naruto looked at him confused, and only then the older male figured out Naruto had _no_ idea what a Bowgun was.

"A bowgun… ever heard of a slingshot?

"Of course!"

"You know what a catapult and trebuchet are?"

I think we covered in history once… Big war slingshots?"

"Good enough. So, like those, a bowgun is just a super-slingshot that shoots faster and harder. There are light ones, easier to use than bows but a bit heavier and less precise, and heavy ones, hard to move with but cause lots more damage. I am going to cover them later, but this is what you need to know for now."

"Ok! I think I got it!"

"Good. So, a Gunlance is like a lance mixed with a bowgun. The shells they shot go past the monster's hide, so it always cause _some_ damage to them, but they need to be reloaded from time to time. But it is mostly a lance, so it can still be used to fight…  
They can also, instead of just shoot, charge a shot making it stronger, use a Burst Fire to fire all shells they hold at once, or a Wyvern's Fire that uses no shell for a point-blank, I mean close-range shot, but to use that one the Gunlance smokes and needs to cool down before using it again.

It is divided in Normal Shots, that have up to five shells at a time and have a stong Burst Fore, Spread that have two shells and a strong Charge Shot – be careful of those around others, and Long Shot, three shells and balanced."

"I agree that it is interesting, but… not for me…"

"Yeah, I thought so. But I thought it'd be good if you at least knew about them.

So, let's talk about the two babies you used before! Let's talk about… Dual Blades!"

There weren't much on the "to see" pile yet, just the glaive with a bug, the weird axe, the bow and the two different bowguns.

And the Dual Blades, already on Naruto's hands.

"Now, the problem is that you were using the Dual Blades like two knives. They aren't, they are short swords. They _can_ be used to stab and parry, yes, but they are made for one thing:

Cut. And cut _fast_."

The Ace Cadet took the blades and began swinging. And Naruto watched.

Dazzled.

It was like a dance. A deadly dance. Every move prepared for the next. Every twist of the body was taken advantage for either a kick or a second swipe, sometimes even from the same hand. The Ace Cadet admitted himself not being the best in those weapons, but there was nothing Naruto could see that did not say otherwise.

"Do you see now?" The Ace Cadet asked, finished with his swings. And Naruto decided, then and there, that while he could also learn the Hunting Horn the one he would focus on eas the Dual Blades.

"Whoah, your eyes are shining. Guess you liked it, uh?" the Ace Cadet asked with a smile.

"Teach me! Please!"

"Sorry kiddo, got my own training to learn it. This is beginner's stuff, you now know how to do it, you can train yourself now."

Naruto nodded, serious.

"The Dual Blades are made for speed and versatility. The Ace Commander usually says poetry about them, but I think they speak for themselves.

Now, they got something interesting… Something called 'demon mode'…"

The Ace Cadet began the dance again… but this time much faster. Naruto could swear he must have unlocked one of the Gates Rock Lee used to go that fast… but how? He had no chakra!

He promptly fell down breathing heavy after finishing the same dance… Kata! That was not a dance, that was a kata!

"'Demon mode' is what we call the technique I just used. It was made just for Dual Blades. It uses your stamina like water, but on the other hand it increases the speed and ferocity of your movements. It was based on observations of enraged monsters. Basically, you force your body to go beyond its limits. It needs lots of training to be able to do though, and if you do it wrong you could damage your body."

'Holy shit, those _are_ the Gates! Or at least the first one! Only without chakra! … _How_?'

"Impressive, isn't it?" asked the Ace Cadet, not understanding Naruto's incredulity. "But it's not all, there is a second stage… ' **Arch** demon Mode'. While Demon sacrifices stamina, Archdemon basically lets go of all inhibitions and self-control of the body for offensive power. You are basically breaking all barriers stopping your body from using its full potential… including the ones where your full potential damages you, so you are basically a giant bruise at first... that is why we don't do it right away, we… well, 'charge' for it through Demon Mode, it eases the damage to the body."

'Definitely the Gates. Or at least come from the same place.'

"The Kata you saw me doing is the bases of the Blade Dance, the proper fighting style of Demon Mode. It is a bit hard to learn, but by training on it outside, on Demon Mode it turns you into a _beast_."

He handed Naruto the blades back.

"Now you know what you can do… but don't go right for it, ok? I didn't learn it in a night, you won't either. Just… train a little more each day."

Naruto nodded. He'd probably ask Super Eyebrows-sensei about it later, if he won't mind. Probably not, but who knows…

"Alright, I can see you are interested in this one, and you probably won't even care for the next two, but we could give them a look anyway, right?"

"Sure," the blond answered, still pensive but focusing on the next weapon on the Ace Cadet's hand, the second-to-last close combat one…

"The SwitchAxe… I should have shown you together with the ChargeBlade… Oh well, too late.  
The idea is the same, it has an Axe and a Sword mode," he said, activating the Axe… and making it finally, actually look like one. Then it transformed into a small GreatSword while still in his hand. Then back. "The Axe is a bit faster than the ChargeBlade's. It is still strong though, and got a long reach… and it is more mobile than it seems. _Sword_ is where we use the phials in this one. It got only one phial though, and affects all attacks. In Sword Mode. The Phial goes out, it becomes an Axe again.  
In other words, fight with the Axe, fill the phial, transform, then use Sword until phial runs out.

Or you can Element Discharge the whole phial at once…"

Naruto got more interested this time… but it got some of the same problems as the ChargeBlade. It is basically two weapons with different fighting styles, and it has to be charged to be used properly.

"And this is the final one… The Insect Glaive!" said the Ace Cadet, holding the glaive in front of Naruto. It was a weird stick, about the size of Naruto's body.

Then the cadet pressed the trigger, and the glaive's blade snapped open like a butterfly knife, and the shaft almost doubled in size save for the big oval tip opposite the blade.

With a smile the man spun the glaive, and the oval tip opened a bit, making a low sound Naruto almost couldn't hear, and… threw the Glaive to Naruto.

The giant insect quickly jumped on his arm, making the young boy shiver.

"Don't be scared. They may be giant bugs, but Kinsects are like loveable poogies. …save that besides being pets they actually help in battle."

"What?"

Smirking at Naruto's question, the Ace Cadet spun a glaive of his own that Naruto didn't even notice, and a giant moth entered the room, stopping on his arm.

"This little guy is a huge part of using the Insect Glaive effectively. In fact, that's why they are called _Insect_ Glaives, you see?"

Naruto nodded. It did make sense.

"They have the special ability of absorbing extracts from monsters… extracts that they then give to us, boosting different abilities. There is an extract that makes you faster, like that Hunting Horn song I told you about, there is one that hardens your skin for a while, making you take less damage, like an Armorskin potion, and there is one that boosts your muscles, letting you attack faster _and_ harder, like a Demondrug… but even better!

And the best part, they can be combined! Any of the other two becomes stronger when mixed with the Speed Extract, and when you mix Speed, Defense and Attack you get an even better effect! Aren't they awesome?"

Naruto nodded, looking respectfully at the bug in his arm.

"And _it gets better_! The glaive is really light, so even while it is unsheathed you can still be moving pretty dang quick! It is the weapon with the best mobility besides Dual Blades and someone with a Hunting Horn after using the self improvement song, and… did you see how it expands? Now imagine it on the ground. It just _throws you upwards_. We call it vaulting, the most radalos move _ever_! And you can use it just about anywhere that can stand your weight. It is practically a weapon for aerial battle!  
Not that it _needs_ to be for aerial battle, since it got a huge reach and is fast! It is not among the stronger, but isn't among the weaker either. If you know what you're doing it can dish out a string of hits, one after another! Like, BAP, BAP-BAP, SMACK-SMACH, SNUH!"

"…Don't become a comic-book artist, no one would understand your onomatopoeias."

The crying face of the Ace Cadet showed Naruto that… he _was_ considering that career choice?!

"But you got what I meant, right?" he asked, waving his head. …wait, what were we talking about again?"

"Insect Glaive," the blond answered.

"Right! This side, is obvious, right? The blade?" the Ace Cadet asked, pointing to… the blade. "But this other side, it controls the Kinsect. Pull this trigger here to throw a pheromone on a part of the monster you want it to focus on," he showed a trigger near the big part of that side. "You can also smack the monster with it, don't worry, it is as resistant as a Hunting Horn, even if not as damaging. And swing it fast to make a sound to call the Kinsect back to you."

Naruto nodded. Seemed simple enough, from the description alone…

That glaive… it may not be as flashy as the Dual Blades, but…  
It was just what he needed.

"Alright, that's all for the Blademaster weapons. Now for the Gunner ones. I know, you don't feel like someone that'd fight from a distance, but it never hurts to have one weapon for whenever you need it.

First, the basic one: the bow."

"Ace told me about it a bit. Many different kinds of shots, and distance management and all that… he thought it was too complicated."

The Ace Cadet tsk'ed. "Don't let the Ace Gunner hear that. She'd skin that cat if _that_ was what drove you away from the bow.

Alright, I'll admit, it is a bit hard to aim at first because the shot is in an arc, but besides the strength of your arm and the tension of the bow, those things are for the _advanced_ shots. And when you're able to pull them off, you'll probably already have a good grasp of them.  
I mean, rapid-fire, as a beginner? Piercing shots? Spread salvos? _I_ can't do that.

…Ok, so I'm not the best example of a bow user, but that's my point! Those are for _experienced_ users, so you can't expect to learn about them right away.

Even a novice can use coatings now though, since the bows have an auto-coating system. Just push the vial in place and… voilá, coating as quickly as you'd want.

The thing you _need_ to remember about bows though is that they are hard to pull the string all the way in a second, so you need to always be pulling it, or like the Ace Gunner says, 'ABC, Always Be Charging'. It is a bit tiring though, so… maybe not _always_."

Naruto nodded. Ace _did_ seem to focus more on what Naruto could do later than on what he could do _now_ … But again, he did admit it was too complicated for himself.

After a few shots the Ace Cadet gave him a Light Bowgun. It looked like a piece of wood with a pipe going through it horizontally and with a small bow stuck near the pipe's tip. On the bottom was a small box, and on the back something that seemed like a crossbow's tiller, to add support and make aiming easier.

"Now, the Light Bowgun… To tell the truth, they are not always precise. Sometimes the shots curve a bit to the left or right. You can counter it by knowing the weapon, but if you are trying for precise shots… And it got a bit of recoil after each shot – the gun 'kicks' back when you shoot, the stronger shots like piercing ones have even more.  
But it's most important feature are the different shots, with different effects. There are so many of them, with different uses… There is also a 'rapid shot' they can use, each light bowgun can use it with a different type of shot."

Naruto took some shots, feeling the recoil, before going to the last weapon.

The Heavy Bowgun looked a lot like a bigger, meaner Light one.

"This one is heavier, hence the name, harder to move while using and all that… but basically it is a stronger version of the Light one. For those that don't care much about sacrificing mobility for damage.  
They also have a crouching shot position that works kinda like a stationary rapid shot."

"Well, this is it. I showed you all the weapons, the pros and cons that I know of. Time to go fight your first 'big monster'," the Ace Cadet said, offering him the Dual Blades.

Naruto _looked_ at his weapons, before picking the one he was going to do battle with.

The Bow and the Hunting Horn were useful. The Bow seemed the better distance weapon for him, and the Hunting Horn affected a group, both good for him that used clones. But, here by himself…

The Dual Blades, those definitely got his interest.

But the Insect Glaive… that one got his attention.

Looking at the weapon in Naruto's hands, and the Dual Blades still in his, the Ace Cadet couldn't hold back a smirk.


End file.
